Suspect in Southwood Square murder arrested

Published 10:44 pm, Thursday, September 30, 2010

Jason Kendrick, 23, of 91 Pequot Drive, Stamford, was arrested Wednesday on drug charges and is being held as a suspect in the murder at Southwood Square on Saturday.

Jason Kendrick, 23, of 91 Pequot Drive, Stamford, was arrested Wednesday on drug charges and is being held as a suspect in the murder at Southwood Square on Saturday.

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Suspect in Southwood Square murder arrested

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STAMFORD -- A Southwood Square man arrested Wednesday night on narcotics charges may be charged in the fatal shooting of one of two men killed by gunshot wounds this past weekend outside his home, police said.

Jason Kendrick, 23, of 91 Pequot Drive, was arrested at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday by Norwalk police officers on a series of warrants charging him with dealing crack cocaine, Stamford police Capt. Richard Conklin said. Conklin added it was a "distinct possibility" that Kendrick may be accused of playing a role in an exchange of gunfire Saturday night that killed two men, Donta Wilks, 31, of Stamford, and Michael Patterson, 20, of Norwalk.

"We anticipate more charges will be lodged against Kendrick," Conklin said Thursday afternoon.

Stamford patrol officers and investigators searched the Pequot Drive home of Kendrick in Southwood Square and found a handgun and drug paraphernalia. A handgun was also found on Kendrick during his arrest in Norwalk on Wednesday. A third gun was seized later Thursday night as part of the investigation, Conklin said.

"The shootings appeared to have taken place outside his residence, out the back door," Conklin said. "Other information garnered during this ongoing investigation has made him a person of interest in that double homicide."

A high-ranking police officer, who requested anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak about the ongoing investigation, said that Kendrick confessed to killing one man at Southwood Square last Saturday night and led police to the gun he used in the shooting. Norwalk police Street Team officers Kyle Lipeika and Brendan Collins pulled Kendrick over during a traffic stop and found out that he was wanted for a narcotics arrest in Stamford. A gun registered to Kendrick, who possessed a firearm permit, was found in the car.

In front of about 30 friends and relatives, Kendrick was arraigned Thursday morning in state Superior Court in Stamford and was held on a $500,000 bond. He was charged with five counts of possession of narcotics and five counts of possession of a controlled substance within 1,500 feet of a school, public housing or day-care center. He is due back in court on Monday.

"Mr. Kendrick was arrested by police last evening and he cooperated fully," defense attorney Phil Russel said. "The prudent thing to do was to leave everything status quo until Monday."

Conklin said the arrest caused several more people, including eyewitnesses to come forward in the case. Police are seeking more people who might have been involved in the double homicide, he said.

"We're trying to determine an exact timeline on how this incident transpired and who was in fact involved," Conklin said.

The fatal shootings have sparked fears of retaliation among residents of Southwood Square. On Tuesday evening, for instance, residents near Victory street and Grenhart Road reported several gunshots, police said. Police were unable to confirm the reports.

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The same day school officials rescheduled a football game between Stamford High School and Norwalk's Brien McMahon High School to earlier in the day at the urging of Stamford police officials. Conklin said the Police Department is working with Southwood Square management to increase patrol officer presence and to hire off-duty police officers to allay retaliation concerns.